Embalmer&#39;s lip holder



Nov. 27, B95 E WRIGHT 2,575,870

EMBALMERS LIP HOLDER Filed Oct. 9, 1950 #20552 if Wen/W I INVENTOR.

Patented Nov. 27, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT "OFFICE EMBALMERS LIP'HOLDERJ.

Aubern E; Wright, Nappanee, Ind.

Application October. 9, 1950;Serial'No. 189,089

8 Claims.

art. This .blockrmay'beiormed of wood; metal. plastic orrany othersuitablerigid material, and is characterized-zbyend' portions !2.which are substantially-square and of the same size, and a reduced .intermediate portion 14. Theblook may beso constructed that the intermediate portion i4 is concave from en'd to end of the block; that is, is concavely curved from one end portion ii to the-opposite end portion. The degree of concavitypreferably varies at eachofthe four sides of the device. This support. II! is of a sizeand proportion sufiicient to. receive andsupportthe One-of the greatest problems which an embalmer-encounters. in preparing a bodyfor burial is the positioningiof the lips. In many cases the lips have 'a tendency to separate after death. is particularly true in cases of protruding teeth; In this :connection the reclining position of the body also tends to cause the lips to assume an-open position.

Therefore, it is the primary object of this invention to provide a-simple andinexpensive deviceby means of which the lips may be held in a closed or substantially natural position until the body; tissues set uportake a form and shape-retaining position asa result of the action of embalming fluid.

Afurther object is to provide a'device of this character which is adapted to apply a small and steady pressure to hold the lips of the corpse closed-during the time required for. reaction of embalming fluid upon all tissues while at the same time avoiding application of pressure sufficientiniamount or applied in such manner as to cause pinchingor-distorting of tissuesincident too r as a result ofuthe application of pressure.

A further object is to provideadevice of this character which is simple in'oonstruction, which is easy to apply and-to use, and which :is adjustable toaccommodate differences. inv size, shape, and other-properties of the head andiace of acorpse.-

Other objects will be apparent from the fol-. lowingrspecification.

Inthe drawing:

Fig. 1 isa perspective view of. the=device.

Fig. 2 is a-fragmentary end view of the upper portion of the device as viewed from the right in Fig. l.

Fig-.Byis an enlarged detail sectional view.

Referring tozthe drawing which illustrates the preferred embodiment of the. invention; the numeral I 0 designates-an embalmers head-supporting block of the character well known inthe headof the corpse; and thedifierence in concavity of the diiierent. surfaces. of the-reduced portion I l-accommodates diiierent positions natural to difierent bodies.

My new lip-holding device is adapted to be mounted uponthe block Hi to be adjustable with respectthereto but to be held in a fixedposition with reference to said head block so that it cannotshiftindependently of the head block when the parts have once been adjusted. In other words, when the head of the corpse is positioned upon the head block and, thereafter, the lip holders are adjusted upon that head block, then the parts of the device will assume and maintaina'predetermined correlation as required for the particular body,and the danger of misplacement'of' the lip holder with respect to the head block is avoided. The lip holder is connected to the block it] by'means of a rigid rod or bar It which is fixedly secured toand projects endwisev from the'block [0 preferably at the center of .oneaend thereof and preferably parallel to the longitudinal. axis ofitheblock Ill. The lip holder includes a carrier formed in part by a. rigid elongated bar It which mounts a clamp at one end. The-clamp is preferably in the nature of a split sleeve 20 having a pair of projecting flanges 22 positioned at opposite sides of the split and provided with aligned. apertures to. receivea screw 24. having a wing-type head 28 affording means to be grasped by the fingers of the user to. manipulate the screw 25. The split sleeve 20- preferably has a socket 28 extending perpendicularly therefrom. and preferably formed integrally therewith. This socket 28 mounts the elongated bar It? which is secured therein in any suitable manner, as by provision of a threaded connection, the use ofa set screw, or by the use ofa bonding agent,- such as welding material or metal. solder.

The bar Iii-is of substantial. length compared to the length or axial dimension of the splitsleeve 20. of theclamp which; holds the bar l8, so that when the sleeve 20 is loosened the clamp may be slid lengthwise along the bar IS. The clamp therefore serves to accommodate two different adjustments, that is, the positioning of the bar It! along the bar IE to effect the lateral spacing of the bar I8 from the adjacent end 12 of the block l0, and also to effect the angular position of the bar l8 with respect to the surface upon which the block l rests.

The carrier also includes a cross-member in the nature of a rigid bar 30. This rigid bar is mounted fixedly in a socket portion 32 projecting from a clamp 34. The clamp 34 fits upon the bar l8 and is slidable on the bar l8 and also rotatable upon that bar when loose. The clamp 34 preferably is of the type having a continuous bore therethrough of a size to slidably and snugly fit upon the bar [8 and has a boss 36 projecting therefrom in which is threaded a thumb screw 38. It will be understood, however, that, if desired, the clamp 34 may be of other construction. Thus, each of the clamps and 34 may be of the same construction.

A clamp, here illustrated as of the split sleeve type, is mounted upon the cross-carrier member 35, said clamp having a longitudinally split sleeve 4!] from which project the flanges 42 at opposite sides of the split. The flanges 42 are apertured and screw-threaded to receive the screw 44, preferably in the nature of a thumb screw having a Wing-type finger grip M5. A socket member 4-8 projects radially from the sleeve 65. It will be apparent that the clamp 49, it may be positioned as desired along the length of the cross-carrier rod and also in any selected or desired rotative position upon that cross-carrier rod. A short shank or rod member 59 is mounted in the clamp socket 48 by any suitable means, as by being screw-threaded therein, soldered therein, or clamped therein as by a set screw. The shank 5B mounts a pair of cross-arms 52 and 54 at its free end, said arms being rigid and fixedly secured to the shank 51] in any manner found suitable. The arms 52 and 54 preferably project from the shank 5D in diametrically opposed relation at the end of that shank and form with the shank a member of substantially Y-shape. Each of the arms 52 and 5:3 is bent, as best illustrated in Fig. 2. The arm 52 is preferably bent only slightly as illustrated, while the arm 54 is bent to a much larger extent. The arms 52 and 5d terminate in end portions 58, each having a screw-threaded bore, and the arms 52 and 54 are so bent that the bores in the terminal portions 55 thereof are disposed substantially at right angles to each other. A screw 58 is threaded in each head 56 and, as best seen in Fig. 2, these screws extend substantially at right angles. Each screw has an enlarged finger-engaging head 50 at its outer end, and at its inner end preferably has a spherical or part-spherical head 62 and a reduced neck portion 54 between the head 62 and the shank 58.

Each of the screws 56 mounts a lip-engaging member, there being an upper lip-engaging member 65- and a lower lip-engaging member 63. The members 5% and 58 are preferably formed of rigid material, such as wood or plastic although they may also be formed or metal. Each is elongated and preferably has a socket to receive the head 62 of the screw 58 on which it is mounted. The construction of the parts 66, 68 may be of any character found suitable, and, in the construction here shown in Fig. 3, each of the members has an opening 10 in its back face which receives a liner member 12 having an inwardly projecting flange H which fits around the reduced neck portion 64 of the screw between the body of the screw and the head 52. The liner is anchored in the bore 10 in any manner found suitable, and the parts are so arranged that the lip-engaging body member may swing in any substantially universal tilting movement relative to the screw 58 through a wide angle. In other words, the members 66 and 58 are so mounted that they can be adjusted into one of a large number of different positions or attitudes with reference to the screw 53 which mounts the same.

The members 55 and 68 are preferably of different shapes and configurations best suited to conform to the general characteristics of the parts of the face which they are to engage. Thus as seen in Fig. l, the lip-engaging member 56 has a face-engaging surface 13 opposite the surface in which the socket I6 is formed, which is generally concave from end to end thereof and which is interrupted by a transversely extending ridge 18. The transverse contour and configuration of the member 56 at its face-engaging surface is preferably convex, as seen at the surface 85 in Fig. 2. The shape of the surfaces l6, l8 and 80 is preferably such that the member 36 will in general follow the usual contour of the outer surface of the upper lip, that is, will engage the portion of the face immediately below the nose and follow the contour of the portion it engages. The other lip-engaging member 58 preferably has a face-engaging surface 82 which is longitudinally concave and transversely convex, as seen at 84 in Fig. 2. The member 5% is also preferably characterized by a reduced dimension portion at its center at 5'6 formed by longitudinal concavity in the lower edge or margin of the member 58 with the upper edge or margin of that member 68 and preferably being substantially flat.

This device is particularly well suited for its intended purpose because of the fact that it is adjustable to the full extent required to adapt it to heads of different sizes and shapes and because its adjustment will enable pressure to be applied to lips in a manner to hold the lips in a natural position. The general dimensions of the head can be accommodated by the adjustable connection of the various clamps to the various carrier parts which make up the holder or mounting for the lip-engaging members or pads. Thus the lateral dimensions of a head can be accommodated by adjustment of the clamps 25) and Ml. The longitudinal dimension of a head can be accommodated by the angles at which the clamps 2B and 4B are positioned, and also by the position of the clamp 34 upon the bar l8. The particular shape and contour of the face can be accommodated by adjustment of the screws 56. Thus it is possible to hold the pads or lip-engaging members 66, 63 in such a manner that pressure is applied as desired. The elongated nature of the pad members 66 and 58 insures that the pressure as applied is distributed substantially throughout the length of the lips rather than being localized. The shape of the pads accommodates this distribution of pressure along the length of the lips, and also insures that positioning action can be secured without entailing any pinching action. The swivel mounting of each pad upon its mounting screw enables the pad to seat itself to a natural position to conform to the contour of the parts of the face which are engaged. The substantially right angular position of the screws 58 enables the application of pressure through the pad members 66, ts to the face in a direction inwardly toward the face and also in a direction to move the lips together. Furthermore, the nature of the device is such that, because of the large extent of surface contact of the members 66 and 6 8 with the face, the amount of pressure required to be applied is small and there is no necessity, therefore, to apply an amount of pressure which would tend to compress the tissues or in any other way tend to cause them to resume an unnatural or pinched appearance in any way indicating the use of a positioning member.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, it will be understood that changes in the construction may be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. An embalmers lip holder adapted to be mounted on a member adapted to support the head of a corpse, comprising a carrier adapted to be mounted adjustably on said member to extend around a portion of said head and to terminate in spaced relation to the face, a substantially V-shaped member mounted adjustably on said carrier and including diverging portions extending toward said face, and a pair of lip pads each adjustably carried by one of said diverging portions and adapted to bear against the face above and below the lips.

2. An embalmers lip holder adapted to be mounted on a member adapted to support the head of a corpse, comprising a carrier adapted to be mounted adjustably on said member to extend around a portion of said head and to terminate in spaced relation to the face, a substantially Y-shaped member mounted adjustably on said carrier and including diverging portions extending toward said face, and a pair of lip pads each adjustably carried by one of said diverging portions and. adapted to bear against the face above and below the lips, said lip pads each constituting an elongated substantially rigid member swiveled adjacent to its center.

3. An embalmers lip holder adapted to be mounted on a member adapted to support the head of a corpse, comprising a carrier adapted to be mounted adjustably on said member to extend around a portion of said head and to terminate in spaced relation to the face, a substantially Y- shaped member mounted adjustably on said carrier and including diverging portions extending toward said face, a pair of lip pads, each of the diverging portions of said Y-shaped member having a transverse screw-threaded bore, and a screw threaded in each bore and swivelly mounting a pad, said screws extending in converging relation from said Y-shaped member whereby said pads are adapted to bear against the face above and below the lips, respectively.

4. An embalmers lip holder adapted to be mounted on a member adapted to support the head of a corpse, comprising a carrier adapted to be mounted adjustably on said member to extend around a portion of said head and to terminate in spaced relation to the face, a substantially Y- shaped member mounted adjustably on said carrier and including diverging portions extending toward said face. and a pair of lip pads each adjustaloly carried by one of said diverging portions and adapted to bear against the face above and below the lips, one of said pads being longitudinally concave at its face-engaging and lower surfaces for engagement adjacent to the lower lip and the other pad being generally longitudinally concave and centrally and transversely thickened at its face-engaging surface.

5. An embalmers lip holder adapted to be mounted on a member adapted to support the head of a corpse, comprising a carrier adapted to be mounted adjustably on said member and adapted to extend around a portion of said head and to terminate in spaced relation to the face, a substantially Y-shaped member mounted adjustably on said carrier and including diverging portions extending toward said face, and a pair of lip pads each adjustably carried by one of said diverging portions and adapted to bear against the face above and below the lips, said carrier including a plurality of adjacent angularly disposed rigid elongated members and clamps adjustably connecting said elongated members in selected relation.

6. An embalmers lip holder comprising a support, a carrier mounted on said support and adapted to extend around a portion of the head of a corpse, a pair of lip-engaging pad members, and a pair of spaced elongated members adjustably mounted by said carrier and extending in converging relation, each elongated member having a swiveled connection with a pad.

7. An embalmers lip holder comprising a support, a carrier mounted on said support and adapted to extend around a portion of the head of a corpse, a pair of lip-engaging pad members, and a pair of elongated members adjustably mounted by said carrier and extending in converging relation, each elongated member having a swiveled connection with a pad, said pads being elongated and centrally supported and having a contoured surface substantially conforming with the contour of the portion of the head of the corpse to be engaged thereby. v

8. An embalmers lip holder comprising a support, a carrier mounted on said support and adapted to extend around a portion of the head of a corpse, a pair of lip-engaging pad members, and a pair of spaced elongated members adjustably mounted by said carrier and extending in converging relation, each elongated member having a swiveled connection with a pad, said carrier being formed of at least three angularly disposed parts connected detachably by clamps whereby said pads may be disposed in any selected relation to said support and may be adjusted in any of three dimensions relative to said head.

AUBERN E. WRIGHT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 402,095 Moharter Apr. 23, 1889 1,729,525 Stenshoel Sept. 24, 1929 1,973,240 Werness et al Sept. 11, 1934 2,210,113 Davis Aug. 6, 1940 2,238,931 DeLaney Apr. 22, 1941 

